


King of the Clouds

by unwelcomedfox



Category: Sky: Children of the Light (Video Game), 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Atsushi's gonna go through a whole existential crisis later on, Crossover, Deal With It, Gen, Kunikida Doppo Is So Done (Bungou Stray Dogs), Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sky Kid! Atsushi, Sky Kid! Dazai, events take place during the season of giving, idk what to tag sorry, no one wanted this but me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:55:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24854953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unwelcomedfox/pseuds/unwelcomedfox
Summary: Ship broken and in what seems to be another world, Atsushi must traverse the world of Sky (but that doesn't mean he needs to be alone)
Relationships: Dazai Osamu & Nakajima Atsushi (Bungou Stray Dogs)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	1. Crash Landing

**Author's Note:**

> Another multi-chapter fic...
> 
> This one will probably be updated more often since I'm obsessed with Sky with no stopping in the near future. 
> 
> This isn't beta read so there's most likely so many mistakes but fuck it. The next chapter with be in present tense, I'm just terrible with writing and indecisive as hell.
> 
> Unlike how Sky is, this fic with have more of a story to it, and was very much inspired by the 2018 version of Sky. 
> 
> Enough rambling, I hope you enjoy~

He didn’t know how he got here. 

Water waded from all sides, and the boat he had previously been in laid next to him, destroyed. The events before are at best fuzzy, and no matter how much he tries to remember the pieces never quite fit together. At most, he understands that he shouldn’t be here. 

This place is nothing he’s ever seen. Right now he’s situated in a small hill of sand. Grand building lay before him in a spectacular show of beauty despite looking abandoned for some time now. Birds chirped happily in the cracks of the towers above. Clouds acted as walls, caging everything in.

The buildings seemed to stretch on for miles, with stone bridges in between each one. 

He wondered if there was anything in them…

He leapt forward, bare feet touching the water before emerging back onto the other side of the shore. The stone was hot on his feet, but didn’t pay mind to it when there was so much to explore.

Inside was more spacious than he thought. A hole in the wall that he suspected was a doorway was straight ahead, with a staircase right next to it. Dust layered the room and wildlife thrived. 

Butterflies of different sizes followed him as he walked around, keeping him company.

The room on the first floor was filled with little knick-knacks. Papers were scattered on a desk in the corner to the far right that overlooked a makeshift window. He picked up some of the papers, looking at their contents.

Images of people in capes and bigger, giant looking people overlooked them. Scribbles that could only be described as poorly drawn fire was in the middle of these people. 

What could it mean?

He set the papers back where they were, opting to climb up the stairs. More than once he thought they might break under him. Thankfully, he reached the top with no incident.

The view on the roof was beautiful. You could see the sun slowly fading into night time and how the clouds circled around the island. In the distance he could see the towers stretch across the island and curve off into the clouds, out of view.

It was truly beautiful. The sunset dressed everything in a magnificent array going from pastel orange to a deep purple. He didn’t even realize the sun went down until he yawned, eyes drooping a bit as he got up from his position from the floor.

He was tired, but not tired enough to fall asleep just yet, and for some reason he didn’t feel very hungry, if he was hungry at all. Why not explore a bit more?

From the roof there was another bridge he could cross. This building was constructed more like a tower, with giant bird-like creatures hovering above, chirping happily. The next building was the same, over and over again similar buildings with nothing much inside them besides old, broken down items and groups of bundled up candles for some reason.

Going down some stairs and exiting the final tower, he landed himself in an interesting place. The room was a much brighter blue than the other ones. Giant monuments were lined up parallel to each other with a candle in each of their hands. 

It was intimidating, to say the least.

The statues resemble closely to the giants he saw on those papers. Seeing them up close, as if looking at their living forms was overwhelming. They were so much different to him, inhuman. Questions invade his mind in rapid succession.

What happened to them? Why are all these places empty? There was a society here, full of intelligent life. Through all his thinking, a thought intrudes into his mind. 

What if they’re all dead?

The thought sent a chill down his spine. If something was able to wipe an entire population out, then what would it do to him? He didn’t want to die, not yet. Although he never has had much of an interesting life-- his life was more like hell, honestly-- but he still wanted to find a place to belong. Not like he deserved it, anyways. Since the beginning, he’s been told time and time again he was a useless, no good tool that will accomplish nothing. And some of it is right. There’s nothing he’s felt proud of or made him feel unique. That he could carry and say with the utmost passion, “Hey! I made that!”

But that didn’t matter anymore, not when he was in a place he’s never seen, much less heard about in his 22 years of life. It’s a wonder this hasn’t been discovered yet! 

He walked forward, passing by the six stone statues which looked down upon him, faces passive, as if he wasn’t worth their time. A knot formed in his stomach as he kept walking, slowing his steps as he got closer to the stone slab at the end. Three candles were on the slab, only two of which were lit.

He couldn’t help it, he was curious. He lifted one of the lit candles, holding it close to the middle, unbothered candle, lighting it ablaze. He put the candle back down, waiting for something to happen. A minute passed, then two.

“I knew it! Why did I even think anything would happen?” he shouted, but inside he felt relieved. He doesn’t know what he’d do if something did happen. But at the same time, what will he do now? No one is around, and he doesn’t know if anyone will come to rescue him.

Will he be here forever? 

He sat down, leaning on the rock, but once his skin touched what he thought would be cold stone burned. Looking back, a pure white line drooped down from the stone and curved. The line changed as it moved, becoming thick for one moment then thinning out to the size of a hair. Paintings of boats, fire, and other unidentifiable things glowed. It moved across the room, creating runes and other pictures across the room. At last, it reached to the wall-- well that’s what he thought. 

The wall split apart easily, opening up like a hungry maw awaiting its prey. He shivered at the imagery, wondering what laid beyond the doors. 

Only one way to find out.

From the entrance, he could see the world outside. All he could see was sand layered in a deep purple hue, then a mountain with stairs leading to an opening in the middle. Like before, no one was around. Just an empty plain, void of the life it once had. 

Nervousness clinged to him at the sight, and he gulped. He looked back for a final time at the baby blue room, viewing the glowing white runes, and walking out.

The doors abruptly closed behind him, gaining a yelp from the white haired man, sealing his fate. He ran back, hitting on the door, begging. Tears poured down his face, seeping down in fat drops as he hiccuped, eyes tightly shut. 

He sniffed and wiped his hand to his eyes. Crying wasn’t going to solve anything. 

Yawning, Atsushi laid down. He was exhausted. The moon still hung high in the air like a giant night light. When he was young and living in the orphanage, one of his favorite moments was staying up late at night to see the full moon. On bad days the sight helped calm him down. It left him with hope, even if it was an empty hope, the thought of a better life made it worth living another day. The warm air didn’t help his growing tiredness. 

“I’ll explore,” he yawned,”in the morning.”

Using his jacket as a blanket and a nearby rock as a pillow, he finally slept, unknowing of what will lie ahead.


	2. Friendly Stranger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyo, I'm back with a new chapter. I'm not entirely satisfied with it but I'm happy to have reached over 2k words. If anyone wants to know, I've also been drawing for this au too. I post all my drawings to my Twitter @unwelcomedfox so feel free to check me out.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy ^v^

Atsushi wakes up to the sun tingling on his skin, dry air filling his lungs with every dry breath he takes. Coughing feels like sandpaper in his throat and he can do nothing but lick his chapped lips.

He groans at the bright sun blinding his eyes. Those giant bird things from before caw in the distance, and it takes a couple minutes to recuperate. Dizziness is a bitch.

He gets up with some difficulty. There’s a crick in his neck that makes it hard for it to move, and his leg tingles to an almost painful level from how he was sleeping on it. His vision fills with black for a moment when he stands up too fast, and he knows he’s going to get a headache soon. 

All in all, he feels awful.

The birds above flew near him, nudging him forward. With a shaky first step, he set off, walking at a normal pace. The hot sand burns his feet, but is replaced with cool rock soon enough when he reaches the mouth of the mountain.

Inside the cave isn’t as bad as he thought. Like before, runes cover the walls, telling a broken story. Stick figures of people are shown from below, while lines that could be described as shooting stars curve down towards the people. Atsushi stares at the picture for a few minutes. He can’t for the life of him understand what it’s supposed to mean.

Instead of waiting to get it (if he gets it at all), he moves ahead. The runes follow along the walls, but nothing changes. At the end of the cave is the small cliff overseeing a huge desert. 

Atsushi’s eyes sparkle at the sight. From someone else it would look bland and they would leave, but to Atsushi, he can feel that something big happened here. Remnants of boats and torn apart flags are the only signs of life, along with what he thinks are man-made pillars. 

The whole place screams lonely.

Now, how to get down the cliff… 

Awkwardly, he takes a cautious step on a small rock below, then another and another until he’s already half-way down. Only then did he realize that there was nowhere else to place his foot. In response, he scrambles to climb back up. In his haste he misplaces his foot, twisting it painfully. 

The descent down was surprisingly fast. However sand doesn’t make a good blanket, not to anyone’s surprise. Atsushi flops down into a heap of limbs at the bottom. He spends a moment groaning in pain before he takes to lifting his head. Atsushi keeps a blank, slightly aghast face, trying to comprehend what just happened. 

A laugh echoes from a couple meters away. They wear a beige cape and loose fitting clothing. A mop of brown hair sways with the cackles from him, and Atsushi can see with every movement that he has bandages wrapped around his body.

Atsushi, embarrassed at the thought of being caught instead of hysterical that there’s actually someone in this barren world, shrieks. He runs up to the other, ready to scream at them when the other calms down from his laughing fit. 

“Wow, I’ve never laughed that hard in my life.” He can hear soft giggles from the man, “Thank you for making me laugh.” Atsushi blushes at the comment, looking away with a half-hearted pout.

The man smiles at Atsushi, and he can see that the man’s eyes are dark, darker than anything he’s seen, and oh so empty. The man seems to notice where Atsushi is paying attention to, and the whitette quickly diverts his gaze.

“So,” Atsushi starts, “what’s your name?” The man’s smile diminishes a bit, like just the mention of his name brings back horrible memories. “I mean, you don’t have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable!--” he quickly backtracks, but the man stops him.

“No, no. I was just taken back a bit. That’s all.” The man brings his hand out, and Atsushi takes it in a small handshake. “My name is Dazai. Dazai Osamu.” His voice is suave, too sugary sweet as if dousing it with sugar to take away the bitterness that lies beneath. It chills Atsushi, but he feels no malice coming from the man. “And yours?”

“I’m Atsushi. Nakajima Atsushi.” He states. 

“You don’t look like you’re from around here, Atsushi. Why don’t you come with me. How does that sound?” Atsushi gives the idea a long thought. On one hand, he’s in a place he’s never seen before, with possibly dangerous creatures on the prowl and nothing for miles. On the other, why would someone be so willing to help? Is this a trap of some kind? Is this man a cannibal? No, that’s ridiculous-- unless he’s that desperate?

As Atsushi thinks over his choices, Dazai seems to have been distracted by a butterfly. The butterfly flitters about while Dazai tries his best to jump and reach the little critter that stays just out of reach. Eventually, Dazai takes a break to catch his breath.

Atsushi sighs and wonders if this will be a bad idea, but he has no choice, he supposes.

“I’ll join you, if you’ll have me, Dazai.”

Dazai just stares at Atsushi with a soft smile that quickly turns into a smirk. In a flash Dazai has Atsushi’s hand in his and is already dragging him away with a sharp tug. Atsushi’s squeals, but either Dazai ignores it or doesn’t care.

“You’ll love it here Atsushi! Now, we’ll need to get you a cape if you want to get by anywhere. Come with me!” Well, it’s not like he has any choice with Dazai’s iron tight grip. And a cape? Like the one Dazai’s wearing?

“Why do I need a cape?!” Atsushi says. Dazai looks back at Atsushi with an elated expression, apparently very excited to give him this so-called cape.

“Capes are super important to survive. You’re basically walking bait if you don’t have one. Plus, they’re lots of fun to have.” Atsushi raises his eyebrow at that, signalling him to go on. “Capes are what we use to fly. If you don’t have one, you can’t fly. If you can’t fly, you can’t go anywhere. You can even customize it. Oh! I know the perfect cape for you!” Atsushi had quickly realized from the beginning that Dazai was the talkative kind. He didn’t mind, though. It’s not like he had anything else to do. Hell, it was better than being alone.

They both continue their journey through the desert. Dazai effortlessly slides through the sand while Atsushi struggles his way through the scorching sun, his legs getting sore from having to keep walking uphill. 

Dazai looks back to see Atsushi panting hard. He waits for the shorter to catch up, then ruffles the white locks, “Ah, I forgot, where are you from, Atsushi?” Dazai gives him that patient smile he saw before, and Atsushi almost tells the other right away of his past, full of pain and struggle to survive.

But he doesn’t. Instead, he carefully picks pieces he’s comfortable with sharing. Little tidbits that can paint a small picture. 

“I’m not sure how I got here per say, but before I arrived here I was in Yokohama. I used to be in an orphanage before I became a sailor to earn some money. A few days ago our crew went off a bit further than we normally go for some new catches, but a storm came, and I woke up here, alone.” He says, a few times his voice cracking at the memory. Tears sprung from his eyes at the thought of the only people he knew being gone, or worse, dead. When he woke up by himself with no one around, it felt like the world around him fell apart “I don’t want to be alone,” he whispers, “I don’t even know what to do on my own. I’m nothing without someone.” He wails suddenly. Tears cascade down his face and all he can do is cry as the empty pit inside himself grows from the bottom of his stomach to the rest of his body.

While he wallows in self-pity, Dazai strokes his hand on top of Atsushi’s head, waiting for him to calm down. It takes a few minutes of crying before it subsides into light hiccuping and then silence. Atsushi shyly lifts his head. Tears stains line down his cheeks and Dazai continues to stroke his hand through the other’s hair. It helps ground Atsushi, assures him that someone is here.

“Thank you, Dazai. I’m sorry you had to see that.” He looks away in embarrassment, Dazai releases a small chuckle at that.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s okay to feel scared and sad. Now,” Dazai lifts Atsushi up-- he didn’t even realize he was crouched down-- and started to walk again, “I’ve never heard of Yokohama, but I’m sure we’ll figure things out.” He says cheerfully. 

They continue their journey through the empty desert until they finally reach the end. A rocky slope is situated at the end of the desert, thick clouds creating a border like in the room he was in before. Small pillars encompass the slope half-hazardly. 

Dazai brings Atsushi up the slope and he lets go to approach a small stone block with a diamond shaped crystal in the middle. To Atsushi’s surprise, Dazai reaches into his sandy cape, then holds open his palm to reveal a small ball of fire in his hand. There’s no way for fire to be safely kept around cloth. The crystal lights up, and a blue light drips down from the crystal down towards the ground. The ground rumbles aggressively, and smooth stone slabs lift up from the ground to create a bridge forward.

There’s too many questions for Atsushi to handle, but all Dazai does is nudge him to the bridge with a snicker.

At the end of the bridge lies a beautiful palace. It’s a floating island, and Atsushi has to keep away from looking down. Unlike below, the island is filled with soft grass that tickles his feet. He clenches his toes to get the cotton grass between his toes and feels how the thin plant glides on his skin. He doesn’t even bother to look at the giant palace yet, it wasn’t going anywhere. 

Parts of boats similar to his were scattered in the ground. For a long time afterwards, he wondered what happened there, and everywhere else, but Dazai gave a cold shrug to the heaps of parts and patters forwards. Atsushi follows, though at a much slower pace.

Their feet echo in the empty room, Atsushi looks up to see that there isn’t a ceiling. Yellow butterflies chatter above them then flitter down onto Atsushi’s nose, shoulder, hair, and Atsushi squeals as they lift him up into the air. 

“Woah, Atsushi,” Dazai shines, “Even the butterflies like you!” 

“Dazai! Help me down!” 

“Aw Atsushi. You’re no fun!” Dazai pouts. Atsushi is almost about to speak up when a huge gust of wind howls above. 

“Huh?--” 

“DAZAI! YOU BETTER NOT HAVE BEEN MESSING AROUND!” A deep shout screams. Above is a man riding one of those giant manta ray-like birds. He wears a yellow cape with a black edge. The colors remind him of that of a book. Dazai seems to have recognized the man, if the carefree look is anything to go by.

“Hey Kunikidaaaa~” He sing-songs, “I haven’t seen you in a while.” Dazai drawls. Kunikida fumes even more at that, and Atsushi can tell that the man is almost at his limit.

“Just get on here before I punish you more for your laziness than I already am going to.” Kunikida speaks sternly, then looks at Atsushi who cowers at the man’s gaze. “You too, kid, get on.” Atsushi doesn’t try to fight, only moving to get on, Dazai lazily flopping on as well.

They take off, the manta flapping its wings gracefully higher and higher until they reach the top of the palace. A noise similar to the hoot of an owl bellows from the manta, flying forwards and into the thick patch of clouds. All Atsushi can see is the white of the clouds and the soft feathers under him, both Dazai and Kunikida disappearing in the clouds, though he can hear the shouts of an elated Dazai. 

Atsushi closes his eyes. He can still feel the dry tears stuck on his skin and exhaustion under his eyes. The last thing he remembers is Dazai catching him before he could fall off.


End file.
